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Blood law
In addition to Protocol, the Blood have a common set of laws for governing their behavior. Law within courts Within a court, the ruling Queen's will is law. A Queen's jurisdiction is determined by her elected position; for instance, Province Queens rule over their provinces, but they must yield to Territory Queens, who are final law of their land and yield to no oneBishop, Anne. Heir to the Shadows: Book 2 of the Black Jewels Trilogy. New York: Roc, 1999. There are legal precedents for appropriate punishments pertaining to crimes. For instance, when a Queen violates another Queen's court with the intent to do harm the appropriate punishment is for the Queen responsible for the violation to be broken back to basic CraftBishop, Anne. Queen of the Darkness: Book 3 of the Black Jewels Trilogy. New York: Roc, 2000.. Murder There is no law against murder among the Blood. However, a price may be extracted to settle the blood debt. The price is determined by the person who was responsible for the one who was killed -- often, but not always, the Queen they were in service to -- and often results in the formal execution of the murderer. Parental rights The Blood are matriarchal by nature, but the laws give both parents certain rights and privileged regarding their children. Paternal rights When a child is born, a male may claim the child as his and do anything that a father might do with his offspring although he has no rights to the child. However, it is not until the child's Birthright Ceremony that paternity is officially acknowledged or denied. The mother has the right to accept or deny paternal rights, regardless of whether it is true or not. For example; a woman may claim paternity of any male she may choose, whether that male was the blood father or not, and conversly may deny paternity if she so chooses.Bishop, Anne. Daughter of the Blood: Book 1 of the Black Jewels Trilogy. New York: Roc, 1998.. Male Blood Law There are three Blood Laws specific to all Males of the Blood. *Love, honor and cherish *Protect and defend *Obey Dark Council The Dark Council is an arbitrating body made up of representatives from the various Territories in a realm. The primary purpose of the Council is to listen to petitions and settle disputes between the Blood that can't be settled by the Territory Queens. It is a semi-democratic body that decides matters by voting, although it is lead by a group of members called Tribunes. The Tribunal structure is hierarchical in nature with the First Tribune as the leader.Bishop, Anne. Heir to the Shadows: Book 2 of the Black Jewels Trilogy. New York: Roc, 1999 History The Dark Council was created before the first war between the Realms with Saetan SaDiablo as one of its chief architects. Originally the Council existed in both Terrielle and Kaeleer, but after the war it was never reformed in Terreille. Kaeleer's Dark Council was granted an island from which it hears petitions and hands out its verdict. For many years, at Saetan's urging, a few demon-dead served on the Council because of their ability to provide experience without having a personal interest in the decisions. He and Andulvar Yaslana personally served for many years, until Saetan's petition for guardianship of Jaenelle Angelline required them to step down. during the years they served, the Dark Council's judgments had been respected and trusted throughout the Realm. However, when Lord Jorval became First Tribune, with more than half of the other membership coming from Little Terreille, the influence of the Council outside of Little Terreille declined sharply. Bishop, Anne. Heir to the Shadows: Book 2 of the Black Jewels Trilogy. New York: Roc, 1999 Landmark decisions *During the time that Lord Jorval was First Tribune the Dark Council also signed land grants to the Queens giving them permission to settle in the "unclaimed" kindred territories. The Council also ruled that a person must be human to be Blood, setting a dangerous precedent that not only denied rights to the kindred but also called into question the rights of other non-human races such as the centaurs, satyrs, and Eyriens. Disputes by non-Blood were only able to be brought to the Council by a human representative from that Territory.Bishop, Anne. Heir to the Shadows: Book 2 of the Black Jewels Trilogy. New York: Roc, 1999 Notes Category:Blood society